A Rainy Day at Road America

I've killed the alarm. There's a pitter-patter on the window of the hotel room. It's raining. Of course it's raining. What better way to make an introduction to the fifth-generation M3 than by driving one in the rain at Road America, a 4.1-mile-long track with two straights where powerful cars can see 150 mph?Count the M3 as one of those few, even in the wet. In fact, count it as another great entry in a great line. As I find out through a wet track day and a 2000-mile road trip, the F80 M3 (and the two-door F82 M4) is everything we hoped it would be: fun, capable, and mightily fast.

Judging by the size of the puddles on the ground at Road America, it's been wet for a while (photos depict an M3 and M4 at BMW's performance center). Undeterred by the idea of summer tires in the rain, we head out. The water is an excellent medium on which to demonstrate how much this new 3.0-liter twin-turbo I-6 (S55 in BMW-speak) changes the driving experience. In numbers, it makes 406 lb-ft of torque at 1500 rpm -- 111 lb-ft more and 3000 rpm sooner than the V-8 it supplants. In a test a month earlier, we recorded 0-60 mph acceleration of 3.8 seconds (0.4 sec faster than our 2008 long-term M3) and a quarter-mile run in 12.1 seconds at 117.8 mph (0.6 sec and 7.2 mph faster).

The difference seems even bigger in practice. While the V-8 delivered power linearly in a sonorous swell to its 8400 rpm redline, this I-6 immediately smacks the rear and doesn't stop. With the turbos racing to peak boost as quickly as possible, torque arrives with the subtly of a cinderblock through a pane of glass. Once you get used to the abundance, you realize it expands your gear options through most corners. I back the throttle setting off to Efficient, finding Sport and Sport+ too difficult to modulate for these wet conditions. Same with the twin-clutch transmission settings; in Sport+, full throttle upshifts are so hard that in the wet they trigger ESC intervention.

I'm in M Dynamic Mode, the middle setting of the stability control system, and the light is flashing constantly. The system encourages smooth driving and intervenes appropriately, but is capable of making big corrections when necessary. I appreciate its guidance while learning the track and the car in perilous weather, but feel comfortable enough to turn it off later.During these early exploratory laps, the M3's drivetrain feels similar to the M5's. With good reason: Borrowed from that car are the electronically controlled differential and optional $2900 seven-speed twin-clutch trans with ratios intact. (The standard six-speed manual, with automatic but defeatable rev-matching, is a revised unit from the BMW 1M, which itself evolved from the 135i.) Also like the M5, the M3's rear subframe is bolted to the body, sans bushings.

The track begins to dry, and rising tire and brake temperatures permit braver corner entries. The brake pedal offers good, consistent response and tons of stopping power. This particular M3, painted in the very pay-attention-to-me Austin Yellow Metallic, has an $8150 carbon-ceramic brake package that upgrades the 15.0-inch rotor/four-piston front, 14.6-inch rotor/two-piston setup with 15.7-inch rotor/six-piston front, 15.0-inch rotor/four-piston stoppers (caliper color changes from blue to yellow). The upgrade requires $1900 19-inch wheels, which, like the standard 18s, come wrapped with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. In that earlier test, we recorded a best 60-0 mph stop of 104 feet and 1.00g average lateral acceleration.Introducing throttle in mid-corner helps the car rotate. Not in a drift, but in legit throttle steer. You can feel the diff working, and it gives the car a great feeling coming off corners. You feel the chassis move and tilt away on exit and head toward the next apex.

Like the sun through the gray above, the steering and chassis begin to shine. Tightening down the F80's chassis was the priority for M, and the effect shows. The car feels exceptionally rigid, as if it were milled from one piece of metal. Nearly every suspension component is new. The control arms and wheel carriers are made of lighter forged aluminum, for example. Pop the hood and you see a carbon-fiber brace running around the front of the engine. What's more impressive than that material (yes, it's real) are the attachment points: from braces around the strut towers to the A-pillar and on and on. While BMW calls it a strut tower brace, it effectively cradles the engine. Torsional rigidity is about 40,000 newton meters per degree, which, according to BMW, exceeds previous racing M3 cars and isn't far off the Nissan GT-R.Along with body control, the steering benefits from the stiffness. Think what you will about electromechanical assist, but the F80's wheel (and chassis) tells you everything you want to know about what the tires are up to. Its 2.8 turns lock-to-lock deliver pleasing accuracy and directness, and its communication means you seldom have to correct mistakes. Dialing the M3 in to, through, and out of corners simply feels delightful. One note: Best leave the steering adjust button next to the shifter ignored, as Sport+ requires unnecessary effort and Comfort feels too light.

As for the weight of the car itself, it feels appropriate and not especially light or heavy. Though larger in every dimension than last generation, on our scales, the M3 weighed 3590 pounds split 52%/48% front/rear (99 pounds fewer than our 2008 long-term sedan). Along with the aforementioned use of aluminum suspension components, other methods of weight reduction include a carbon-fiber roof, aluminum hood and fenders, the deletion of the device that hands you the seat belt in the M4, and a magnesium oil pan. The engine is 15 pounds lighter than the E90's V-8, which itself was 33 pounds lighter than the E46's iron block I-6. At 183 pounds, the twin-clutch trans is 4 pounds lighter; the manual, at 106 pounds, is 26 pounds lighter.The rain comes back in the early afternoon during what would be my last lapping session. It's coming down so hard that, even with the windshield wipers moving at full speed, I can't see through the windshield on the front straight. I still want to keep driving. I'm addicted. The M3 is a fantastic driver's car, offering all the balance, controllability, and breadth of power we hoped it would.Keep reading to learn what it's like to drive the new M3 on a 2000-mile road trip.

I have owned my E60 M5 for 3 1/2 years now and have been slowly modifying it, its a great car and has been very reliable(Just hit 100,000 miles)....my wife is trading in her 2012 X5 5.0 for a 2015 M3 and we are getting an ESS tune on it, we are very excited to get it in 6 months. We are both drivers, we love cars in General, but BMW and Porsche have always been our weak spots and will continue to be.

It's all about your perception. Myself, coming from daily drivers of a 2008 400hp Evo, 550hp 2011 Mustang, 400hp track prepd 08 Mustang, and now a SCCA D Street prepd 2013 WRX, I'm willing to bet this M4 would feel like a Bentley as a daily driver. Is it noisey? To you maybe. Is it a rough ride? If you're a old person. Hard to drive straight? I doubt it.

Yes, if you are currently driving a Lexus GS or Caddy CTS, maybe this car is a "rough" daily driver. If you're like me and some of your cars a radio or AC were a luxury, I'm willing to bet you could DD this s*it out of this M4.

It's the RUN FLATS! I've had 4 M3s, and the last one came with run flats. The are SIMPLY AWFUL AWFUL tires, stiff and loud. I replaced them with standard Pilot Sport PS2s after less than 900 miles and . .. poof . . .PROBLEM FIXED.

DITCH THE RUN FLATS.

Trust me, the V-8 M3 kinda sucked. Very peaky. No torque. Hard to drive fast. The 335is for 2013 was wonderful with its N54 twin turbo and 389 lb feet of peak torque. This M3/M4 has an even better engine (more torque!), and will be awsome.

If you haven't owned a BMW 3 series, you don't understand what wonderful cars they are. Sounds like the M3/M4 fixes the disastrous standard 3 series electric steering issues, so sign me up for one, and let's do European delivery to save the 10% VAT!

Almost any 1-2-year-old Bimmer I've driven grated on my hearing with interior hardware creaks, squeaks, rattling noise, and the like - inexcusable for the so-called German precision engineering. I'm not finding those faults in other German, American, Japanese, or Korean cars.

Sounds like a great drivers car, but calling it a "great all around car" seems to be stretching things:

"You'll know every expansion joint the car drives over -- this is not a car you want open beverages in. And the interior creaks quite a bit, too. The steering requires two hands. I love how it feels on tight back roads, but it commands constant attention on the highway. One hand it and you'll be chasing the center, and tossing your passengers around."

"You can't argue with this twin-turbo I-6's power delivery, but the sound it produces makes you want to short-shift."

Many other cars have been criticized for making rude engine noises, having rough rides and steering that is over sensitive(need two hands to drive in a straight line). Did you ever hear this description about a porsche and its steering?

One of the great things about a proper hydraulic steering rack is that you have great directional stability and feel so one hand driving is easy(not "chasing center" while driving in a straight line).

The great performance and handling of this car comes at a cost, its sounds like great fun, but it doesn't sound easy or relaxing or particularly comfortable to drive every day. A great performance car no doubt, but it seems MT cannot admit that there are trade offs and many of these trade offs have been criticized by them in other cars. Its obviously a performance beast, makes unpleasant engine sounds(like a G37, LOL!), the interior creaks and squeaks, it isnt particularly easy to drive on the highway(need two hands on the wheel), and rides pretty rough. To me it sounds opposite my former 335i ZSP which didnt make any unwanted sounds, had silky smooth engine sounds, great stability ont he highway and a nice ride compromise. I guess if MT complains too much, they wont get to drive the next hot bimmer until after the other mags....

Great car and numbers. Will go down as one of the last great sports cars with a manual.

Interesting that BMW was saying the car would be around 3300 lbs back in January at the Detroit show, but MT weighs it at almost 3600 lbs. But with 0-60 in under 4 seconds, it does easily beat BMW's estimated 4.1

I realize that automatic transmissions are the way the world is moving, and that the M3 is just as tech laden as any other $70K sports car, but it still seems like sacrilege to fit this car with an automatic. A driver's car like the M3/4 needs a stick shift.

It's interesting they said the wheel provides all the feedback you could want. C&D criticized it for being much too numb. Steering feel seems to have the widest variation of opinion among automotive journalists.

I'll take mine in Estoril Blue, with the only options being the manual trans and Harmon/Kardon sound system.

So the $8150 brake upgrade also requires a $1900 wheel upgrade? So in reality it is $10k for ceramic brakes. Classic German pricing!!! I know plenty of people have the coin to buy these things but man that is crazy pricey!!

@Dee Rar while I share your dislike for runflats, BMW has never fitted runflat tires on any M model from the factory. None, not a single one. Unless you purchased yours used and the previous owner put on the wrong tires, "none" would include yours.

@Mintas Lanxor What a load of BS mate!! I've owned BMW's for 20 years now(11 in total) and never had issues like this after a few years! I have a 2012 X5 5.0 and its perfect after two and a half years of driving, my 2007 E60 M5 has a squeak from one cup holder after 100,000 miles and many days beating the crap out of it at the track, no doubt the squeak is because of a splash of coffee or soda from my wife and kids, not a because of a part failure.... The interior finishing in BMW's is outstanding, only BMW's that were junk were the early X3's.

Comparing an $80k car to a $66maxed. The bimmer still loses a the track & if compared at price point the Z07 which I will probably be $80kish would also crush it! Let's not forget that all BMWs are underrated ( it's probably pumping more like 500hp & torque while the twin clutch helps a lot!

@bmforever If by beating its performance by 1 second you mean losing by a tenth of a second then yes. The Corvette did 3.7s to 60 and 12.0 in the 1/4 mile in motortrend.com testing. And that is with a manual transmission.

If you can have only one car, then this may not work. One's tolerance for the rough ride etc would probably depend upon the age of the driver.

My Boxster S has 19 inch wheels, no sport suspension. On reasonable roads here in the NE, it rides very well. Like a sport sedan. The steering is very precise and the ride is smooth. But on bad roads, the ride is very rough but no creaks or squeaks. I don't use it as a DD. Wouldn't work for me.

@TB6MT It is not just MT. I find that just about every auto journalist has the same problem. BMW has such a track record for amazing performance machines that vices are forgiven much more so than in other cars. As much as people want to claim "no bias" that is complete bull. Whether it is MT or Consumer Reports! If all you do is live and breath cars and test them day after day you will ultimately become biased - whether you realize it or not. And this applies to other areas as well - like movie critics that get hung up on an actor or director. Just a side effect of being on a job long term.

Right, because if you asked BMW or any M3 owner what is the car's priority one, they would say straight line acceleration.

I don't think the car should have a manual because it would make it faster, I think it should have one because the M3 has always been a driver's car, which is about involvement and fun. And a good stick shift is always more involving and fun than even the best automatic.

Sure I know automatics are for those that don't KNOW how to truely drive. And one is truly in command, full attention when both hands and feet are at work. This is why I have lost initial respect for the GT-R. It's a video game with AWD and a automatic. If a 90 yr old woman can drive one (and I've seen a few) then you know it's not a true drivers car. No skill or fun in driving a automatic fast. It's just great that there are still choices. Chevy kept 1 car for a stick only. It's the Z28.... Everything else has an automatic option. The GT500 and BOSS were stick only. That's what I'm talking about. And there should be rules on selling high powered to cars to people without advanced drivers training or high performance training, it's a liability.

@HPforDaze @anandn Yessir. I am a wimp with a delicate hiney. I am thinking of selling my Boxster and getting a Murano convertible. Nothing like a convertible with a high CG and no rollover protection. Different kind of bravado.